From 1927 to 1968, Elmer Harvey Bone (American, 1885-1976), captured the milestones and memories of Gainesville, Florida’s residents. Over the years, hundreds of people went to his studio to sit for formal, posed portraits. Bone also took his camera with him everywhere, ready to document public events. Whether it was a downtown parade, new courthouse construction, or a passerby on the street, he recorded as much as his film roll allowed.
In 2024, Alachua County celebrates its 200th anniversary. This exhibition traces the environmental, social, and cultural changes that have occurred over the past 200 years. It provides a hopeful look at who is doing what in 2024, and a glimpse of a more sustainable, just, and peaceful future.
Learn about the story of water in Florida by following its flow, beginning in the aquifer and ultimately ending in the Everglades and the Florida Keys. The exhibit was researched and curated by Vasilios Kosmakos, founder of the Florida Naturalist Oral History Project.
University of Florida students enrolled in Dr. Louise Newman’s “From Headlines to Histories” course during the fall semester of 2021 created this collection of reflections to provide a glimpse into today’s anxieties and complexities and encourage a deeper admiration for the many layers of history that have led us to this moment.
At this time, being gay was illegal in Florida. This secrecy made gay people more vulnerable to the persecution of the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee, better known as the Johns Committee. People were threatened by the Committee with exposure and prison if they did not cooperate. This reign of terror led to dozens of professors and students leaving the university between 1958 and 1959. Although we will never know everyone the Committee hurt, this exhibition seeks to tell their stories.
This exhibition highlights the lives and accomplishments of eleven women from cities throughout Alachua County. We will tell their stories, some for the first time, to call attention to the oft forgotten contributions of women in our history and in the history of Alachua County.
The upcoming Alachua County Climate Action Plan (CAP) stands to be the most comprehensive action plan of any Florida inland county. Grace to Overcome, Inc. worked with The Well Creative videography to talk with, interview, and record local voices to understand their perspectives on topics ranging from extreme weather, climate migration, transportation, and more. These are their stories.
Keeping Their Love Alive: The Gainesville Area AIDS Project
In September 1983, Randy Buel and others founded he Gainesville Area AIDS Project (GAAP) in September 1993 to provide a physical space for and address gaps in existing local programs for people with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
This exhibition was created with the help of our community members. We are one of the primary organizations dedicated to Alachua County history. As we conduct research, we often wish that we had more photographs, narratives, and documentation from the past. Living through the COVID-19 pandemic gives us all a unique opportunity to create and collect these primary sources for the future.
This exhibition follows one slice of African American history in Gainesville, but certainly not all of Gainesville’s Black history. Our goal is to show the Civil Rights movement in Gainesville from the 1960s until the early 70s and how that affected the University of Florida’s racial atmosphere. In a great show of strength on April 15, 1971, Black students decided to take a stand in a protest at Tigert Hall on the UF campus. Their interaction with President Stephen O’Connell would change the course of the university forever.
From the earliest days of the East Florida Seminary up to today, sports have always been part of the fabric of Alachua County. However, there is more to the story. Gators and Beyond examines lesser known sports teams like the G-Men baseball team and the Fighting Terriers of Lincoln High School.
Matheson History Museum 